Robert Amsterdam calls Metropolitan Arseny's case a crime against humanity

The head of the international human rights company Amsterdam & Partners LLP, Robert Amsterdam, who represents the legal interests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, made a sharp statement on the case of Metropolitan Arseny of Sviatohirsk, calling his persecution a «full-scale crime against humanity.» On the eve of the next court hearing, scheduled for December 2, 2025, human rights activists accused the Ukrainian authorities of falsifying the case and systematically attacking the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

As Amsterdam reported on its social media, the UOC hierarch has been held in custody in harsh conditions for over a year. The official accusation is that the Metropolitan revealed the location of Ukrainian military checkpoints during a sermon. However, the firm’s lawyers point out that the charges were brought only months after the sermon, and the checkpoints themselves, which prevented parishioners from visiting the Sviatohirsk Lavra, were not under enemy fire.

«The imprisonment of this innocent monk is part of the ongoing violations of religious freedoms by the Ukrainian government,» the company said in a statement. According to the lawyers, this case is part of a general policy aimed at promoting the state-backed OCU at the expense of the UOC, which leads to forced transfers of churches. The statement also mentions Law No. 3894, which creates the legal framework for the ban on the UOC and was previously condemned by the Vatican, Pope Francis, the World Council of Churches and UN agencies.

Robert Amsterdam, founder and managing partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, directly accused the country’s top leadership: «The behavior of the authorities towards the UOC … is a full-scale crime against humanity. This crime is being committed by President Zelensky and others involved in state-organized systematic attacks on civilians for their membership in the UOC.» He called on the international community to pay attention to «the shameful and absurd phenomenon that is taking place in Ukrainian courts, organized by the Ukrainian secret police — the SBU.»

On November 28, 2025, the court hearing in the second criminal case against the abbot of the Sviatogorsk Lavra, Metropolitan Arseny, was interrupted and postponed. The reason was a sharp deterioration in the health of the bishop, who needed emergency medical care right in the courtroom, as well as procedural violations by the prosecution.